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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25174909">My Ghost (Where'd You Go?)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/pyromanicofthesea/pseuds/pyromanicofthesea'>pyromanicofthesea</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>AbsoluteControlShipping Week 2020 [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Absolutecontrolshipping Week, Fluff, M/M, ghost au</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 06:35:12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,120</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25174909</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/pyromanicofthesea/pseuds/pyromanicofthesea</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Day Four: AU</p><p>Giovanni gets caught in a storm in the middle of Eterna Forest. He takes shelter in the Old Cheateu, and encounters an unlikely supernatural being.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Akagi | Cyrus/Sakaki | Giovanni</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>AbsoluteControlShipping Week 2020 [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1811884</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>24</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>My Ghost (Where'd You Go?)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>He was lost. Not that it was a huge problem, this wasn’t the first time Giovanni had been lost in the middle of a forest in unsavoury weather, but the weather was suggesting it would be a better idea to take shelter for the night. Sinnoh was a cold region, to be expected of an island in the north, but still. It was cold, the valley just south of the forest made the winds worse, and the rain showed no signs of stopping. While he doubted he would catch his death in such weather, he also had no real intention of being in the pouring rain any longer than necessary. Traveling was supposed to make him stronger, not land him with a cold.</p><p>When he came across an old, abandoned mansion amongst the trees, it felt like the mansion beckoned to him. Dry, safe from the elements, potentially even warm if there was a fireplace to be lit. Giovanni didn’t think twice before climbing over the rotting wooden fence and heading through what used to be the garden of the front grounds towards the mansion.</p><p>He tried the door, but it would not budge. Looking around, he noticed one of the front windows had been busted, either by past looters or weathering. It didn’t appear too high off the ground, definitely low enough that he could see where any remaining chunks of glass would be. He walked over, and considered for a moment turning back and just breaking down the door. The place was abandoned, right? So it shouldn’t make a difference, right? Yet something told GIovanni it would be best to not cause any property damage. As if he wasn’t a world-renowned crime lord. Property damage and trespassing would be the least of his crimes, and yet, here he was having second thoughts.</p><p>He shook his head, grabbed a clean spot on the open window frame, put a shoe on the side of the house, and heaved himself up through the window. His landing wasn’t spectacular, but he did land on his feet. It reminded him a bit of when he was an operative, when his mother led Team Rocket. Were he in worse shape, the minor acrobatics would’ve taken their toll in that moment. Instead though, he walked into the main foyer as if he had merely come through the front door.</p><p>The mansion’s interior was covered in the fine layer of dust, though it felt almost too fine for how long the building appeared to be sitting empty. It had definitely been occupied by outsiders at one point, and thoroughly cleaned out. In some spots, the carpet had been ripped up and chunks removed. There was a pedestal by the center doorway, which despite the lack of working lights appeared to be the entrance to the dining hall. Judging by the dust inconsistencies, something had sat atop the pedestal at one point in time, but it was long gone now. As Giovanni walked up the stairs to the upper level, he noticed the musty smell that drafted through the open foyer. He hadn’t noticed it before, but that was surely from being by the open window, and thus with access to fresh air.</p><p>The more he explored the mansion, the more it felt as though he was being watched. He’d look over his shoulder, swearing he felt someone walk by, only to find the same empty, dark hallway he came from. As expected, that did nothing to ease the haunting feeling. If anything, it only worsened how on-edge Giovanni was becoming. Still though, it beat being stuck in the rain for who knows how long.</p><p>Upstairs is where he finally found a fireplace, not that he had been looking that hard. He mostly wanted to see what all was in the place, and where the best spot to sleep for the night would be. Evidently, he just found it. The fireplace appeared to be intact, and he’d know for sure once he started a fire. If it was all good, he wouldn’t smoke out the room.</p><p>After breaking down the wooden chairs in the room, he placed them inside the fireplace and released Nidoqueen from its Pokeball.</p><p>“Do you still remember Flamethrower, girl?” Giovanni asked the Pokemon as it smoothed down the needle-like scales that covered its body. He pet gently down the Pokemon’s cheek, mindful of the scales. It wouldn’t have been the first time he poisoned himself on one of his Pokemon, but he wasn’t terribly keen on testing his built-up immunity at the moment.</p><p>“Niiii,” the Pokemon said, almost chirping as small flames licked up from the corners of its open mouth.</p><p>“Just enough to light the fire,” Giovanni said, pointing to the fireplace. “Don’t burn the whole place down.” Nidoqueen spat a stream of fire onto the wood pile, just long enough for the wooden remains of the room’s chairs to light. Giovanni smoothed his hand down the Pokemon’s back, petting it while keeping away from the poison spines that ran down to its tail. “You did well,” he said, just before returning the Pokemon to its Pokeball. He sat down in front of the fire and warmed his hands. For a moment, he just sat there, still mildly wet, watching the flames and listening to the rain fall.</p><p>After a while, Giovanni left the room and took some blankets and more chairs from the neighboring rooms. Not to burn, this time, though. He arranged the chairs around the fireplace, and began to remove his clothes. Piece by piece, he hung his shirt, coat, pants, shoes, and socks up on the chairs in front of the fire, until he stood there in only his underwear. He shook out the dust from one of the blankets he had found in the room to the left, and once he was certain nothing was growing on the blanket, wrapped himself in it. The second blanket received the same treatment, though this one was spread out on the floor near the fireplace instead. That is where Giovanni sat, his wet clothes hung up to dry to his left, beside the fireplace but not so close that it was uncomfortable, wrapped in a blanket in only his underwear, for the next several hours. Well, in all actuality, he fell asleep after about thirty minutes or so.</p><p>Giovanni’s sleep only lasted a few hours, and he awoke to a ghastly-looking man sitting beside him, next to the fire that was still burning. The man looked as pale as a sheet, all the colours about him muted, his whole form mildly translucent. He didn’t notice Giovanni had awoken until the crime lord sat up from where he had fallen asleep.</p><p>“Oh. I thought you would sleep for several more hours than that.”</p><p>“Who are you?” Giovanni asked, awake and embarrassingly aware of having nothing on than underwear under the blanket that only still covered his lower half minus his feet. It wasn’t that he was embarrassed necessarily, he knew he was fit, he knew he was beyond fit for his age, but the evaluating look the pale man was giving him made his face heat up in quite the foreign way.</p><p>“No one anymore,” the pale man said, as if that explained anything as to how he got there and why Giovanni could see right through him. “What is your business here?” The man asked before Giovanni had the opportunity to get a word in.</p><p>“I only mean to rest here for the night,” Giovanni explained, realizing it was entirely possible this man who did not seem very human-like resided in this ramshackle mansion. “I didn't mean to intrude, I only wished to get out of the rain.” He hated how much the man caught his eye, his pale form in the firelight that gave the man - at least, Giovanni hoped he was a man and not some sort of monster - an ethereal glow. The man just looked so familiar, like he had seen that face before, but could not recall entirely. His features were still so translucent, he could pass as a great many men like that.</p><p>“You lit this fire.” It was no question, and though the man didn’t sound accusatory as he stared at the lit fireplace, Giovanni couldn’t help but feel under scrutiny.</p><p>“I was only seeking w-”</p><p>“Thank you,” the man said, a small, almost sad smile crossing his face. He turned to look at Giovanni again, and Giovanni felt his voice catch in his throat. The man, whoever or whatever he was, was beautiful despite being nearly indistinguishable.</p><p>“It wasn’t a problem,” Giovanni finally got out. He didn’t know the significance of the fire being lit, beyond the cold of the night being chased away, but to see the man smile, well, he was glad he lit the fire nonetheless. The man put a hand over Giovanni’s, and it chilled him to the bone, but in that moment he didn’t mind it so much.</p><p>“You may stay as long as you like,” the man said, and though he made no move to lean in, Giovanni caught himself hoping he would. He didn’t move his hand, and the man didn’t let go until the moment was drawn out far beyond what would have been usual.</p><p>“I-,” Giovanni said, but his voice trailed off. He almost felt as if he was becoming lost in the man’s eyes. He looked so familiar. So much like, well, so much like a ghost from the past. “I’m sorry, you just, you remind me of someone, but you couldn’t be him.”</p><p>“I would not worry about it. I do not mean you any harm,” the man said, and he leaned against Giovanni’s shoulder. “If it is amicable, I would like to remain here for now,” he said, and added when given a quizzical look, “you are warm, and I need warmth to become tangible.” Giovanni didn’t understand what the man meant, but he put his arm around the man’s shoulders and held him close without any second thought. Or at least, he would have, except his arm went right through the man’s nonsolid form. The man laughed, and Giovanni felt his heart skip at the joy of hearing it. Arceus above, he was beginning to feel like he was smitten with the man.</p><p>“Oh, I didn’t realize that-”</p><p>“No no, it’s quite alright,” the man said, laughter still on the edge of his voice. He hummed lowly, going back to a more neutral state of being in terms of emotional expression. “If you were intending on holding me, you will have to wait a bit longer. Not that I mind the affections. It feels nice to be warm again, though I do wish I could see you better. It is difficult to see clearly when, well-”</p><p>“When you’re still see-though?” Giovanni offered, and the man’s lips twitched up in a smile.</p><p>“Yes, essentially,” he said, and Giovanni put his hand in his, despite knowing it would both slip through and feel nearly unbearably cold. And that is how they sat together, listening to the rain pour. That is, until the man lifted his hand so it could become tangible.</p><p>Giovanni turned to look at him then, now that he could make out who the man was, and the sight before him caused a lump in his throat from the welling emotion. When the man looked over at him, and caught his eyes, and froze, Giovanni could not help himself.</p><p>“Cyrus,” he whispered as he pulled the man into a hug and buried his face into the man’s shoulder. Cyrus wrapped his arms around Giovanni, and rubbed his back in a gentle attempt at comfort.</p><p>“If I knew it was you, I would have said something,” Cyrus said so quietly it was nearly a whisper.</p><p>“It’s been so long,” Giovanni said, and he looked up at Cyrus. “I’m just happy to see you again.” Cyrus clung to Giovanni, almost as if letting go meant the man would disappear. The two stayed like that for quite some time, just holding each other. Eventually Giovanni fell asleep in Cyrus’s arms, and Cyrus set him down gently. He did his best to keep the fire going throughout the night, keeping the room warm while Giovanni slept. Other ghosts walked through during the night, but the two were otherwise left undisturbed. They were alone by morning, and the room was still warm enough even though the fire died out an hour or so before sunrise that Cyrus was still visible when Giovanni awoke.</p><p>When Giovanni awoke to see Cyrus - though faded - still sitting beside him, he knew then he was surely the luckiest man alive.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>*Porky Pig voice* That's all, folks!<br/>This is the last story I had planned out for this, so that's all from me for ACS Week this year (please ignore how late these are,,,pls). This is not, however, the last you'll see of ACS from me though. I enjoy writing the dynamic of these two, even though I have a feeling I get OOC at times. Maybe I will try my hands at a long-fic so the characterization does not feel so suddenly different lol</p><p>Thank you very very very much for reading! I hope everyone is staying safe and doing well &lt;3</p></blockquote></div></div>
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